Further playing the game of limbo, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. announced on Tuesday that they are lowering the price of their Playstation, packaged with a Dual Shock controller, to $129 American effective August 30th. Nintendo of America quickly countered the same day, announcing a drop in the price of the Nintendo 64 to the same price, effective September 1st.

"With the announcement of our new pricing structure," explained Jack Tretton, Sony's vice president of sales, "the PlayStation business is poised to dominate the holiday selling season." In addition to the lower price, Sony is also lowering the price on a plethora of peripherals, including memory cards, controllers, and adaptors.

With the surprise drop from Sony, Nintendo was quick to swing into action, announcing a similar drop with extra incentives. "These new price points, coupled with an incomparable lineup of hit software between now and the holidays, promises even stronger momentum for Nintendo 64 throughout the rest of 1998," explained Peter Main, Nintendo's executive vice president of sales and marketing. Nintendo is packaging the newer system with a $10 instant coupon usable to purchase one of 25 games or accessories.

What does all this mean to RPG fans? If you haven't picked up a newer system because of the prohibitive cost, now might be a great time to pick one up and experience all the great RPGs released, and give yourself the chance to play some of the promising games upcoming for both systems. No word yet on whether either company plans to lower prices further in the future -- but you can probably count on it.